Does anyone else get to the end of an “Entourage” episode and think, “Damn, I wish this show was an hour long”? Tonight was all about the build-up to the much-anticipated “Aquaman” premiere. Vince asks his mom to be his date (“Aquamom, I love it,” Ari says), Eric’s going with Sloan (very happy she’s back), and Turtle and Drama pass out 50 tickets to 50 hot women, hoping to improve their odds of scoring. But when Mrs. Chase’s fear of flying forces her to cancel, E and Turtle rely on the powers of jealousy by inviting their own moms in for the event. That does the trick, and the boys roll to the premiere with their moms (and Sloan) on their arms. Unfortunately, when the credits roll we’re still standing on the red carpet, forced to wait a week to know whether the movie’s a hit or not. Damn. Why not an hour?
Of course, the smart money’s on “Aquaman” being a hugely successful summer blockbuster. After all, it’s not like Vinnie’s an established superstar in Hollywood whose career could survive a major flop, and without Vince bringing in the leading roles, Eric, Turtle and Drama are all out on the street. But the interesting thing here is, Ari is now more dependent on Vince than the boys are, especially since his wife’s trust fund is running low. Ari’s still afloat, working with a staff of nine in a West Hollywood office building, but things are damn tight. He tells his wife that “the seeds are planted” every time he asks for more money ($100k this week) and that Vince will be the first seed to bloom, but the fact is, Ari needs Vinnie to become the biggest star on the planet. If “Aquaman” bombs, Ari’s toast.
So it would seem the film has to hit big, for the sake of the story, but wouldn’t it be interesting if that weren’t the path the writers chose? The boys have been riding high for a couple of years now, so why not throw a roadblock up on Easy Street to create a little conflict? And as for Ari, it’s always darkest before the dawn, right? How would he recover from an “Aquaman” disaster, precisely at the moment that he needs a minor miracle? Plus, the gamble on “Queens Boulevard” paid off, so it would seem almost fitting that what looked like a sure thing – a summer superhero movie with James Cameron at the helm – actually flops.
But who am I kidding? “Entourage” is all about the lifestyle: the women, the fame and the fortune. That’s what makes it so damn fun. And spending half the season watching everyone dig out from the “Aquaman” rubble wouldn’t be much fun, would it? But it certainly would be a ballsy choice by the writers, and one that would no doubt create plenty of growth opportunities for just about everyone involved.
Most weeks, since Jeremy Piven‘s character is one of the best on TV today, I’ll point out some favorite Ari moments. Tonight, while catching flak from his wife for having to borrow more money, he said, “Trust me like you trust your daddy’s trust fund. I mean, you call them your personal savings but you haven’t saved shit personally.” And remember when Lloyd asked Ari to promise that he wouldn’t make fun of Lloyd’s race or his sexual orientation anymore, and Ari said, “I can’t promise that, but I can promise that I’ll always apologize afterwards”? Well, he already broke that one when, after complaining about some dust in his office and being reminded that the cleaning staff was on strike, Ari replied, “They strike, you work. You’re Asian; you’re supposed to be a neat freak.” You just knew he wasn’t going to keep that promise.
Let’s just hope the writers can give Vince a love interest without making him look like a bonafide pussy, like they did last season with the Mandy Moore storyline. It was painful to watch, and the way they wrapped up the story, so quickly and conveniently, in the season finale was weak at best, but at least it’s over. Hopefully. Watching Ari build his own agency from the ground up, with Lloyd at his side (that dude’s great), should be entertaining to say the least, and here’s hoping Jeremy Piven continues to make Ari one of the best characters on TV today. Meanwhile, I’m wondering if Terence, Ari’s old boss, will step up his efforts to bring Eric in as an agent. Now that Ari’s on his own, there’s bound to be an ensuing power struggle as Terence tries to keep Ari down, but while it’s pretty clear that Vinnie remains loyal to Ari, Terence may still think he’s got a shot to steal Ari’s #1 client. Considering Eric is dating his daughter (did I mention how hot Sloan is?) and he offered Eric a job last season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Terence step up his recruiting efforts.
